1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a heavy equipment traction aid device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tire track for installation on a pneumatic tire to facilitate the movement of the equipment over very soft and muddy terrain and to improve the buoyancy of heavy equipment rolling over such terrain.
2. The Prior Art
Numerous traction aid or anti-skid devices have been proposed for retrofitting on existing pneumatic tires. These devices range from the simple ladder-like chain to more elaborate systems using, for example, a plurality of solid interconnected traction blades disposed around the periphery of the tire in a continuous track. For example, Table I below, provides exemplary prior art.
TABLE I ______________________________________ Prior Art U.S. Pat. Nos. Inventor Year ______________________________________ 2,917,095 Galanot 1959 2,666,469 Dasch 1954 2,433,435 Cook 1947 2,433,436 Cook 1947 2,936,807 Hajart 1960 1,234,896 Hadnagy 1917 ______________________________________
Traditionally these devices have been manufactured in various sizes depending on the tire to be fitted.
It is a generally accepted principle that for a vehicle of a given weight, the narrower the tires are, the more it will have a tendency to sink and get bogged down in very soft and muddy terrain. Fitting traction aids such as chains or track on the tires over narrow tires may even worsen the situation since the vehicle will still tend to sink and the traction aids will often dig the ground under the wheel and sink the vehicle even deeper. Such involuntary excavation of soft and muddy ground, for example in the course of logging operations, often causes unwanted and long term damage to the soil and the local ecosystems. The common solution for improving the buoyancy and traction of heavy equipment over very soft and muddy terrain has been to provide larger and wider tires. This results in rather lengthy equipment downtime and increased costs as wheels, tires and traction aids such as chains are changed.
There is therefore a need for an improved device for retrofitting on existing tires which will improve the traction and buoyancy of heavy equipment over very soft and muddy terrain without the need of changing the tires even though the tires would generally be considered to narrow for the given terrain conditions.